First US offshore wind farm powering more of Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE: The nation's first offshore wind farm is powering more of Rhode Island.

The Block Island Power Company says it shut down its diesel generators and transferred the island's electrical grid Monday, a savings of nearly 1 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.

Deepwater Wind's five turbines began generating power for the mainland grid in December. Block Island had to be connected with a new cable.

The power company says the early morning transfer was the final step in a process that began more than a decade ago, when the cost of fuel for the generators drove electrical costs to more than 60 cents per kilowatt hour.

It says Block Island's 2,000 electric customers now have access to cheaper and cleaner energy at stable prices.